Portable conveyer



Aug. 4, 1925.

F. H. WEEKS PORTABLE CONVE-YER Filed March 30, 1922 INTOR BY g A TTORNEY Patented Aug. 4, 1925.

UNITED, STATES FRANCIS H. WEEKS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PORTABLE GONVEYER.

Application filed March 30, 1922. Serial No. 547,944.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS I'I. lVEnKs, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of New York, county of Bronx, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in PortableConveyers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to improvements 1n portable conveyers, and moreparticularly to conveyers of the type intended to handle loose materialsin bulk, such as coal, broken stone, phosphate rock, sand, and otherthings of a similar nature. The object of my invention is to produce asimple, strong, and convenient apparatus which can be easily moved aboutand applied to a quantity of loose ma terial, so as to convey thematerial to an elevator or other means of handling it, or to anyparticular point where it may be desired to convey the material. It isintended for short hauls, however, and is auxiliarly to other means ofdisposing of the material. It is particularly adapted for use in theholds of vessels, and in other places where a comparatively large bulkof loose materials are stored, so as to save handling the material byshovels or hand labor, but so as to rapidly convey the material to adesired point.

Portable conveyers are not new, but as a general thing cofiveyers,whether portable or otherwise, for handling loose materials, requirethat the material be delivered upon the conveyer, and they work from thebottom instead of the top of a pile of loose material. Where suchco-nveyers have been open at the bottom so as to have a raking effect,they have usually been connected with some large relatively immobileobject, such as a car, wagon, or the like. My invention, however,comprises a structure embodying a chain of flights forming a conveyerwhich is open on the under side so that the structure can be droppedupon or placed in engagement with a pile of loose material, and will actlike a continuous rake, eating its way into the pile, and raking orhauling the material forward to a point where it can be convenientlyreached by grab-buckets, elevators, or other devices for its removal. Itwill be seen that by this arrangement the material does not have to behandled to get it to the conveyer, but the oonveyer draws the materialforward, and by engaging the pile, hauls itself constantly intoengagement therewith, and the flights engaging the material, tend todraw the whole structure nearer to the pile. In carrying out this idea,I preferably mount the conveyer on a portable frame which canconveniently be of triangular form with its apex down so that the framecan be tilted and the chain of flights easily applied to the pile. Ipreferably mount this frame on two wheels located substantially at theapex of the triangular frame, and thus the frame can be easily tilted upand down, and as the two wheels can be easily turned, the structureamounts to a pivoted frame because the wheels can be so easily turned tothe right or left, and the raking end of the flights dropped on a pileas desired. As the structure is narrow, and is so mobile because of itstwo wheel mount, it can be pushed into narrow spaces and easily adaptedto haul the material to the desired point. It will be seen that thismakes a very nice means of practically pivoting the frame, and it is farless cumbersome than it would be to pivot the frame on a truck whichcannot be easily swiveled. I can also use in connection with theconveyer, a chute at the discharge end of the machine, and the flightswill draw the material up through the chute and discharge it.

Another object of my invention is to provide means at the discharge endof the conveyer to throw the material forward clear of the machine, sothat I can gain additional distance, and place the material dischargedin such a position that it can be operated on by buckets or the likewithout interfering with the machine. Other objects and advantages ofthe apparatus will appear from the description which follows.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar reference characters indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus embodying my invention, and

Figure 2 is a broken side elevation with parts in section.

The drawings show by way of example, a preferred form of the structurewhich I have used, but from the following description it will beunderstood that many of the details shown can be changed or modifiedquite materially, without affecting the invention, which lies partly inthe details, but also in the general design and arrangement of theoperating parts of the apparatus. I prefer to have a generallytriangular frame with the apex down, and with the frame pivoted at theapex, because this lends itself to ready adjustment, as will bepresently seen.

In consonance with this idea, I have shown a frame comprisingparallel'side bars 10 which near the center have depending side braces11, and these connect with the sides of an inclined chute 12 at one end.of the machine. The chute really forms a part of the frame. erably cutoff at an inclination as shown at 13 in Figure 2, so that these partsshall be substantially parallel with the rear and lower member of thecarrier or conveyer proper hereinafter referred to, but this is simply amatter of convenience. The bottom of the chute is also cut away as shownat 14 in Figure 2, near the lower end of the chute, to prevent choking,as will be more particularly described hereafter. The frame is mountedon wheels'or trucks 15, which can be of any suitable kind, and these arelocated near the apex of the frame, as shown.

The machine frame is also provided with a suitable supporting bracket 16on which is mounted a motor 17, which can be of any ap proved type, andwhich is shown as an electricmotor, the shaft of which carries asprocket wheel 18, moving the chain 19 connecting with the sprocketwheel 20' on the shaft 21, this being suitably supported on the top ofthe frame, preferably near the center. The shaft also carries a sprocketwheel 22, from which extends a chain 23, this running to one end of themachine near the top of the chute 12, and connecting with a sprocketwheel 24 on the transverse shaft 25, which is suitably supported asshown'at 26 on the end of the machine'frame.

The shaft 25 carries a central and smaller sprocket 27 which drives thechain 28, and this can be of any suitable or preferred construction. Thechain 28 is an endless chain, and extends over an idler 29 on the topand near the middle portion ofthe frame, the idler being suitablyjournaled as shown at 30, thence the chain extends over an idler 31journaled as shown at '32 at one end of the machine frame, and from herethe chain runs over the idler 33 which is journaled at the bottom andnear the middle part of the machine, preferably at a point at the footof the chute 12. The chain 28- carries suitable fligl'its'or blades 34Lforming an endless carrier, and by reference to Figure 2, it will beseen that at one end of the machine the carrier is entirely open, whileat theopposite end the lower member of the carrier runs through theinclined chute 12. Thus the open end of the machine, which forconvenience we will call the rear end, can be dropped upon a pile ofcoal or other loose material, and it will drag the material from thepile The sides of the chute are prefmeats? forward, and the materialwill collect in a little pile at the foot of the chute 12, and from thiswill be carried upward through the chute. Such material is apt to havelarge lumps in it. The flights will cut their way through the collectedmaterial, forming a path, and the lumps which may be out of ,the line offlights, will strike the sides of the chute, will have a yieldingbacking, and

will mostly Work their way into the line of" flights and up through thechute.

At the discharge end of the machine and preferably at the top of thechute 12, I provide means for throwing the material free of the machineto get additional distance and to leave the machine out of the way ofany buckets or other things which may receive the discharged material.To this end I arrange means at the upper end of the chute 12 forthrowing the material which is being handled free of the machine. Anysuitable means can be employed, but I find a paddle wheel rotating inthe opposite direction to the travel of the conveyer or carrier 283 i-,desirable. To this end I arrange on the shaft 22 a drive pulley 35carrying a cross belt 36, and this connects with a pulley 37 on atransverse shaft 38 which is arranged at the upper end of the chute 12,and which has a paddle wheel fixed thereon, the blades 39 of whichreceive the material discharged from the chute, and as the direction ofthe rotation of the paddle wheel is opposite to that of the carrierabove referred to, the material is thrown clear, thus gaining distanceand leaving the material where it can be readily taken by buckets'orotherwise without interfering with the machine.

It will be evident from the description which I have given that theconstruction of the frame of the machine, the arrangement for drivingthe various parts, and the form of motor and other details,canbe'departed from without affecting the invention. Also it will beunderstood that any suitable carrier having any preferred form offlights or blades, can be used. The important thing is to have aportable frame with a line of movable flights carried thereby, means foroperating the flights, and to have them arranged so that they can bedropped upon or placed in engagement with a pile, and they will haul thematerial forward as stated. Moreover, the flights willserve to draw themachine into the pile instead of forcing it away, and the apparatustherefore works very nicely, and it will be understood that theapparatus can have a different form of frame, and can be used eitherwith or without a chute, according to circumstances.

It will be seen from the foregoing descripiii) tion that the apparatuswhich I have shown can be wheeled up to the pile of material, or placedadjacent to such material, the under 1,54aee7 part dropped upon or inengagement ,with the pile, and the machine started, after which thematerial will be drawn forward and upward through the chute, if a chuteis used, and that as the machine is supported on a pivotal point, itwill automatically eat its way into the pile, and when it has removedthe material in its path, the machine may be tilted and turned so as tostart in on a new path, until all the material to be handled is removed.The extreme portability of the machine, the easy turning of it, and itsautomatic adjustment to piles of various sizes and purposes, render itvery easy to operate, and it will handle a great deal of material in acomparatively short time so as to draw the material from the pile anddeliver it to an elevator or other means of dis-- posal.

I claim:

1. A manually movable conveyer complete in itself comprising a rigidtilting frame, a quick turning truck supporting the frame near thecenter and to which the frame is pivoted, an inclined chute at one endof the frame, and a conveyer extending longitudinally of the frame withits flights projecting downward on the under part of the conveyer, saidflights being open at one end of the machine and passing through theaforesaid chute at the opposite end.

2. A manually movable conveyer complete in itself comprising a frame ofgenerally triangular shape mounted near the apex of its triangle on atwo-wheeled truck to which it is pivoted, a chute extending fromadjacent to the pivoted part of the frame to one end portion thereof,and a bladed conveyer extending longitudinally of the frame with itsblades projecting downward on the under part of the structure and leftopen at the rear part thereof, said blades travelling longitudinallythrough the aforesaid chute.

3. A manually movable conveye'r complete in itself comprising a tiltedframe mounted near its middle portion on an easily turned support towhich it is pivoted, a chute extending from a point near the pivot ofthe frame to the end portion thereof, said chute having its bottom cutaway leaving a clearance space, and an endless bladed conveyer extendinglongitudinally of the frame and substantially the full length thereof,said conveyer having its blades projecting clownward on the under partand left open at one end portion of the frame and arranged to movelongitudinally through the aforesaid chute.

4-. A manually movable oonveyer comprising a tilting frame mounted nearits middle portion on a track to which it is pivoted, a chute extendingfrom a point near the pivot to the upper end portion of the frame, said.chute having its bottom cut away providing a clearance space, a motorsupported by the frame and provided with a driving shaft, a driven shaftcarried by the frame, a chain connecting the driving and driven shaftsfor driving the latter, an endless conveyer extending around said frameand provided with blades, said conveyer having its blades extendingdownwardly on the end portion of the frame and arranged to movelongitudinally through the chute, an idler secured to the frame on theupper portion thereof, a second idler secured to said frame adjacent thepivotal connection, means connected to said driven shaft for operatingsaid endless conveyor, a discharge wheel secured to said frame adjacentthe upper end of said chute for receiving material from said chute andthrowing such material away from the machine, and means connected tosaid driven shaft and to said discharge wheel for rotating the latter.

FRANCIS H. XVEEKS.

